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News Release

REMAINS RECOVERY TEAM TO NICARAGUA

A team of Department of Defense specialists has arrived in Nicaragua to recover the remains of crew members from a B-26 bomber which crashed there in 1961 in support of the Bay of Pigs operation.

In 1997, the CIA requested DoD support for the remains recovery.
The U.S. Army's Central Identification Laboratory, Hawaii conducts similar recoveries in locations across the globe.
CILHI specialists, for example, have recovered the remains of American servicemen from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, China, Norway, the Kurile Islands, North Korea, New Guinea and many other locations.

The nine-person CILHI team includes a medic, a photographer, specialists in forensic anthropology, explosive ordnance disposal and mortuary affairs.
The location of the crash site was provided by officials of the government of Nicaragua, who have supported the planning and execution of this humanitarian mission.

The operation in a remote area near San Jose de Bocay, Jinotega, is expected to continue through April 30.
If remains are recovered, they will undergo forensic identification at the CILHI in Honolulu.